QUICK FACTS

Where is it? Lake Rouge (Lac Rouge), Quebec, Canada [ 49.26218901, -75.39394153 ]

What's in the photos? An emoji-like lake before and after it disappeared

Which satellite took the photos? Landsat 9

When were they taken? June 21, 2024 and June 15, 2025

Contrasting satellite snaps show the drastic transformation of an emoji-like lake in Canada that completely drained after its bank suddenly collapsed. Experts think a multitude of factors led to the rare event.

In May 2025, members of the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi — a nearby community of Indigenous people who used the lake for hunting, fishing and trapping — discovered that the lake had been totally emptied, after they found a thick coating of mud and dead fish spread across a nearby logging road, according to a statement released by the group .

After members of the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi traced the muddy trail back to its source, it became clear that Lake Rouge's eastern bank had collapsed in a landslide-like event, causing its…